Family of Daneshia Heller says rumors and grief have spread side by side.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Fort Lauderdale police have arrested a 34-year-old man in the killing of Daneshia Heller, a 30-year-old mother of three whose body was found naked near a dumpster outside an apartment complex last week, as her family publicly mourned and demanded justice.
The case has drawn attention across Broward County after relatives described the condition in which Heller was found and investigators moved to calm fears fueled by online posts. Police say Altavious Powell, of Miami Gardens, is charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond. Detectives say they are still working to establish a motive and confirm a full timeline, even as the arrest has shifted the focus to court proceedings and the gathering of records, phone data and witness statements.
Officers were called just before 7:30 a.m. last Wednesday to the apartment complex where Heller was found, according to early accounts of the investigation. A man who dialed 911 said he discovered the body near a dumpster and told a reporter off-camera that it appeared battered and had been covered with cardboard boxes from the trash. A blue tent was set up as investigators began processing the scene, and police vehicles crowded the area while detectives took photographs, collected evidence and worked with a crime scene unit.
The location was described by authorities and local reports as the Alden Apartments area near Northwest 15th Avenue and Northwest Second Street, next to North Fork Elementary School. Investigators later said Heller’s body was found near a dumpster in the 1500 block of Northwest Second Street. Police have said she was shot. In interviews after the arrest, Heller’s mother, Temekia Connor, called the death devastating and questioned why her daughter was killed. “To shoot her in the head,” Connor said, describing it as “execution style,” and asking what could have led to it.
Police have identified the suspect as Powell, 34, and said he was taken into custody Thursday. Investigators have said Powell was first arrested on an unrelated case and, through investigative work afterward, was identified as a suspect in Heller’s killing. Detectives have also said they believe Heller was killed inside a vacant apartment before her body was left near the dumpster. Sgt. Don Geiger, a homicide supervisor with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, said investigators were still determining a motive and were reviewing digital evidence, including cell phone data and text messages.
As police announced the arrest, the case also became tangled in a fast-moving wave of online claims that a serial killer might be targeting the area. At a news conference Tuesday, Geiger said the department did not have a serial killer case in the city and warned that rumors can put people at risk when names, vehicles or descriptions are posted without verification. Detectives said Powell is only connected to one homicide at this time. Authorities and family members said the rumors added another layer of fear for relatives and neighbors already shaken by the killing near homes and a school.
Heller’s family has described her as loving and caring, and relatives said they believe she fought for her life. Her father, David Heller, told a local outlet that she “was treated like an animal” and said he would have done anything to protect his children. In another interview, he spoke directly about the person accused of killing her, saying, “Preyed on my daughter,” and describing the loss in blunt, furious terms as family members stood close by. Heller’s aunt, Latoya Snell, said the family had leaned on one another for days as they tried to sleep, grieve and prepare for what comes next.
The investigation has raised unanswered questions that detectives say they are still working to resolve, including how Heller and Powell knew one another, what led up to the killing, and the precise sequence of events between the vacant apartment and where the body was found. Police have not publicly detailed what evidence led them to Powell beyond describing continued investigative work and the review of digital records. Court documents referenced in local reporting also described information from a tip that prompted detectives to look more closely at Powell, while police emphasized they were continuing to verify facts through interviews and data.
Legal proceedings are now moving alongside the police investigation. Powell is facing a first-degree murder charge and is being held without bond, according to local reporting. A public defender assigned to Powell filed a motion to withdraw, citing a conflict because of previous representation of Heller, and a hearing on that request was scheduled for Wednesday. Police have said they expect to keep building the case as forensic work continues and detectives complete additional interviews, while prosecutors prepare for the early court steps that follow an arrest in a homicide case.
Neighbors and family members described the apartment complex as a place where people live close together, and they said the discovery near a dumpster and under cardboard made the death feel especially cruel. The early-morning scene included yellow crime scene tape around buildings and investigators moving from spot to spot with kits and cameras as patrol officers held the perimeter. Even after the arrest, family members said they want clear answers about what happened and why, and they said they are trying to keep Heller’s name at the center of the story as the case goes through court.
Author note: Last updated February 25, 2026.